When they're stuck together
by Loz06
Summary: NeilAndrea. Sequel to 'When she wants him back'. Andrea’s keen to solve a case she’s working and Neil who seemingly can never say no to her gets swept up in her enthusiasm. The outcome isn’t good for either of them, especially Andrea who doesn’t get the a
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: When they're stuck together

**Author**: Loz

**E-Mail**: loz06(at)yahoo(dot)com

**Rating**: T

**Category**: Neil/Andrea…All Neil/Andrea

**Series**: Story number ten (wow!), what follows are titles and story ID numbers. (1) After he's at her door – 2486705. (2) When the mighty all – 2506192. (3) While his wife's away – 2525486. (4) While they're away – 2543010. (5) When love's not working – 2543013. (6) Boundaries when broken up - 2562611. (7) What happens on the train – 2579012. (8) When they work together – 2595808. (9) When she wants him back – 2598312.

**Spoilers**: So minor it shouldn't ruffle any feathers.

**Archive** (if applicable): www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net.

**Feedback**: The good, the bad and the very ugly it's all appreciated.

**Summary**: Andrea's keen to solve a case she's working and Neil who seemingly can never say no to her gets swept up in her enthusiasm. The outcome isn't good for either of them, especially Andrea who doesn't get the answer she wants for the question she's been burning to ask Neil.

**Author's Notes**: Ahh back to work, don't you just hate it, lots of lovely reviews might make the transition easier...hint…hint:0)

**Thanks: **Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the lovely people who have left reviews, if I had all your emails I'd send some virtual chocolate. Special shout out to Fabio, whose last review had a certain cheerleader ring to it, encouraging people to leave reviews and double reviewing some! Your words were most appreciated along with everyone else's. A review in my inbox always brightens even the brightest day.

**Disclaimers**: As I don't want to be stuck in jail cell with someone somewhere I say I don't own anyone featured below.

* * *

"We've got a shout." Honey comes up behind Andrea who's staring at the social pages of the paper. There are six snaps of the Law Council dinner, all locals; at the bottom Neil smiles with Philippa, his arm around her. 

"What is it?" Andrea asks tossing the paper in.

"Disturbance a woman, man and their three year old child," Honey explains.

"This one's going to end in tears." Andrea comments dryly.

* * *

"You've been looking sad lately." Honey comments when they're in the privacy of the car. Andrea says nothing, giving Honey a polite look that says in no uncertain terms she doesn't want to talk about it. There's silence between the two women until they turn into the street of the complaint. 

"That's got to be it." Andrea notices a large man banging his fists against the front door of number sixty-four.

"Great." Honey grumbles pulling the car up.

"Sir," Andrea calls as she steps out of the car securing her hat. The man ignores or doesn't hear her as he continues to roar for a Tracey to come out.

"Sir, could you step away from the door please." Andrea stands at the bottom of the stairs joined by Honey. He continues to pound his fists above his head on the door.

"Sir," Andrea tries again stepping up to the top step. She looks back at Honey who tries herself, Honey's tired of the man having to be asked and there's an edge to her voice.

"Sir, if you don't step away we'll have no choice but to arrest you." The pounding stops but his fists remain pressed against the door.

"I just want to talk to my wife." There's a frightening amount of aggression in his voice.

"Well she called us because she's scared, do you think this is the right way to go about it?" Honey's voice changes to calm and soothing.

"Well she won't answer my emails or my phone calls." His hands bang on the door with each of his words.

"Why don't you come down and talk to us and we'll sort something out." Honey compromises, it's as far as she's willing to go.

"I don't want to talk to you; I want to talk to my wife." The frustration that characterised his last words is replaced with rage. He spits the words out while turning to look at Honey for the first time, as he turns his arms come down from above his head, his elbow connecting with Andrea's cheek. She grabs for the handrail next to the steps but it doesn't stop her fall. Her legs still buckle underneath her, leaving her on her side at the bottom of the three small steps.

She doesn't notice Honey slam the man against the front door; the noise is louder than anything his fists generated. Andrea doesn't hear the cuffs snap on, her whole right side is tingling and she's sure her hands and elbow are grazed. The pain in her cheek radiates to her head, she doesn't hear Honey utter the words arrest, assault and police.

"Are you o.k.?" Honey asks with urgency.

"Yeah," Andrea says picking herself up carefully hoping the world doesn't spin and bring her crashing down again. She hears their heavy footsteps go down the path and the car door open and slam closed again.

"Let me look." Honey winces when she sees Andrea's face.

"I guess I won't make the cover of Cosmopolitan this month." Andrea jokes unconvincingly.

"Do you want to go and see if his wife's alright? I'll stay with him, her name's Tracey Willows." Honey looks back to the car; Mr. Willows has finally been silenced.

"My face will only frighten her more than she already is." Andrea sighs pressing her hand gently against her cheek.

"You sure you want to sit with him, this could take a while?"

'It was an accident." Andrea smiles barely and walks gingerly towards the car. She doesn't look at Mr. Willows; she rests her head on the headrest and closes her eyes – her head pounds.

"My name's Chris Willows, I'd shake your hand but…" Andrea listens but doesn't react. "I'm really sorry about what happened...it was an accident."

"Did PC Harmon advise you of your rights?" Andrea asks.

"You want me to remain silent." He sighs.

"My head is pounding; you'd be well advised…" It's all Andrea needs to say. Her face contorts when she sees the large swelling on her left cheek in the rear-view mirror. The contortion only causes more pain.

* * *

Inside custody Mr. Willows is checked in and they decide to let him cool off although the rage radiating from him a half an hour ago is gone. 

"DS De Costa needs to know about Mrs. Willows' position." Andrea reminds Honey as they walk through the corridor, everyone stares at Andrea, some stop to ask but she brushes them off.

"You need to get that looked at." Honey says as they negotiate Andrea's new worst enemy – stairs.

"I'll take care of it, meet you for refs?" Andrea has no intention of seeking First Aid, she knows just the person who needs to know about Chris Willows and she secretly hopes he'll open up his protective side.

Through the doors she can see him in a circle, talking with Sam and Phil. She doesn't have to say his name or interrupt his conversation, out of the corner of his eye he sees her and when he looks properly and sees her cheek he drops the folder in his hand telling Phil and Sam 'good work' and to keep him updated. They can't help but watch as he's drawn to her.

"What happened?" Andrea revels in the concern in his voice. She ignores the question opting to press ahead with what she needs professionally from him. Professional not personal was their agreement, what might branch off from that would be a bonus.

"Chris Willows was beating down his wife's door this morning; you're probably going to need to get to know him." Neil knows nothing of Mr. Willows or the reason Andrea wants him to have knowledge of the case, still he presses on.

"Has someone checked you out?" He doesn't need her to reply, already knowing the answer; his arm directs her out of CID. She follows him downstairs into the First Aid room, blinking as the fluorescent light chases away the dark. "Don't go away." When he gets back he's carrying a small bag of ice, the door closes giving them privacy. As he places the ice gently next to her skin she allows herself enjoyment that comes from the tiny brush of his fingertips, she doesn't dare let her face reflect her thoughts.

"It was an accident." She tells him softly.

"I don't care, you have him charged." There's conviction in his voice as he takes her elbow rubbing antiseptic cream into it and placing a bandage over the scratches.

"You tell anyone in CID I did this…" There's a slight smile in his voice.

"Secret's safe." She swallows as he looks at the graze on her palm. He fixes one with cream allowing her to change that hand which holds the ice in place. She adds this to the things she misses about him, the mental list created the other night in the garden. She wants to ask him all the questions she has and the big one – has she lost him? She wants to know why he's doing this, love or something else and how did she know he would? She can't bring herself to ask.

"Who is this guy?" Covering her hand with his he lifts the ice away to inspect the swelling.

"Chris Willows...separated and about to be divorced, wife's going for full custody of their three year old child. Mrs. Willows is petrified her husband is going to hurt her and take the child and I'm inclined to believe her."

"You've experienced his handiwork." He gets up from the chair, opening cupboards looking for something. She lets the fact her face was an accident slide.

"He'll be bailed later this afternoon." Andrea watches him adjust the Polaroid camera. In a couple of days she'll be black and blue and more photographic evidence will be needed. He points the camera towards her for a little too long before the flash blinds her, she could swear he's looking at her like he wants to, safely hidden behind the lens.

"Keep me updated won't you." The photo becomes clearer on the paper, appearing from the carbon blackness. She thinks things are clearer now too, he still wants her but then again maybe she's deceiving herself for comfort, it's too hard to continue wanting someone who doesn't want her. Then again the indicators she's got are as artificial as the moment frozen in time on the paper.

"Be careful out there." His voice is almost a whisper, before leaving her alone in the sanitised room.

* * *

"DS De Costa's gone to talk to Mrs Willows." Honey catches up with Andrea as she leaves the First Aid room; she's pleased to see the ice Andrea has pressed against her face. "I could use a cuppa." 

"I'll catch up with you." Andrea wants to hear Chris Willows' story. She tells the custody officer whom she wants to see, leading him into an empty interview room; a custody officer stands next to the tape recorder that's not operating.

"I'm really sorry." He looks remorseful but for Andrea apologies escape people's lips too easily.

"I'll be fine." There's something in her voice that propels him to explain.

"We're separated Tracey and I." His voice is full of regret now. "She says I'm going nowhere and carrying her along for the ride, it's not my fault the business I worked for went broke, there's no work out there for a guy who has no formal qualifications." He seems to realise he's making excuses, airing laundry he doesn't need to. "Tracey, she's applying for full custody of our daughter Kim and she'll get it."

"Why do you say that?" Andrea says despite the fact the reasons are obvious, still she can feel they're sliding closer to the problem.

"I have a conviction for assault." Andrea's not surprised by the news. "Tracey was five months pregnant, we were having a meal at the pub and this guy was harassing her, so I hit him after he didn't take the message. Warned him off four times. He hit his head on the back of a table and spent months in hospital recovering, the judge said other than the fact I shouldn't have done it, I used excessive force and I spent two years in jail, missed the birth of my daughter and a whole tonne of her 'firsts'." Andrea says nothing about the fact she feels a little for him. "I'm a big guy of course I hit hard, I've had some military training, they took all of that into account, never once considered the fact I was protecting Tracey. No one wants to hire a guy with a criminal record, much less an assault record. I just wanted to talk to her and now I've gone and given you a real shiner."

"I can't condone what you've done but I understand why." He looks uncomfortable, like a small man in a body too big for him. Like this she'd never pick him for a violent man. "I don't think you're going about it the right way though." His head hangs.

"What's a guy to do? Huh? My parents beat on each other every second night, there was wife and husband bashing in my house when I was growing up, the cops would mutter it was only a matter of time before they killed each other and one night they did. I'd been raising my brother for seven years by then, I'd never lay hand on Tracey or Kim."

"You can see why Tracey called us though." Andrea steers him in another direction, dredging up family history could go on all night.

"I only know how to solve my problems one way, I was never taught any different…"

"There are people who can help you." Andrea treads carefully.

"I was going to sign up for one of those anger management classes next week. I was going to talk with Tracey about it but she wouldn't talk to me."

"So you went around to her place." Andrea finishes; she knows there's more. "You'll be bailed soon; you need to go back into holding." He complies without argument, looking smaller again in his skin. Andrea believes essentially he's not a bad guy, he's just only ever seen people use violence to get their way, he'd never been taught any different.

"Did they patch you up?" He asks before Andrea closes the cell door.

"I'm fine." She doesn't want to talk about it.

"Send me the medical bills." Andrea closes the door on the statement.

"Have you done the interview?" Honey stops Andrea before she's out of custody. "He's got a colourful but not extensive record."

"I know, I just had an off the record chat." Andrea smiles.

"DS De Costa has a statement from Mrs. Willows so we can interview him and get him out of here." Honey brings Andrea up to date on Mrs. Willow's story, for a refreshing change it matches her husbands.

"This is all going to start again when he gets bail." Andrea sighs.

"Yeah but it won't be our problem." Honey indicates upstairs will take over.

"Who do you think'll get the call out and the paperwork?" Andrea reminds her, there's not much they can do to stop Mr. Willows from going back to his wife's house.

* * *

Honey's radio crackles to life, interrupting refs. It's the same address and the same complaint. Honey sighs replying to the call. "Here we go again."

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

"There's no one out the front." Andrea notices as they pull out the front of the house.

"Let's check the perimeter." Honey says as they get out of the car. Andrea squeezes herself down the side of the house, over discarded bricks and wood, past overgrown plants that have claws – they reach out and scratch her skin, the windows are secure. Meeting Honey in the backyard – she's cleared the other side of the house – they find no sign of Mr. Willows. There are children's toys scattered and washing flaps on the line but nothing looks as though it's been violently disturbed.

"Probably realised we were coming." Honey sighs leading the way back to the front of the house. "Mrs. Willows it's the police." Honey identifies them.

Andrea hasn't met Mrs. Willows and the woman who opens the door surprises her. She's slight build, tiny frame and short in height with brittle dark red hair, the total opposite of her husband. Her hands shake as she opens the door, her face pale with fear.

"He's gone Mrs. Willows." Honey reassures the woman who lets them in. Inside her small child plays on the floor with building blocks, oblivious to the chaos that's going on around her, her mother's been crying.

"He'll be back." There's not an ounce of strength in her voice.

"DS De Costa will be back to see you, is there anyone you could stay with?" Andrea steps into the other room to request the VPU officer. When she comes back Mrs. Willows has crumbled on the sofa.

"There's no one I can stay with that Chris doesn't know."

"Can you talk to him at all?" Andrea's voice is soft, aware she has to be sensitive.

"He's become so angry and aggressive lately, he frightens me, and I don't know what he's capable of. He's never touched us in anger but I just can't trust him anymore." Andrea can hear the fact she loves her husband but there's fragility to.

"We'll stay until DS De Costa arrives." Honey reassures her, Andrea investigates the kitchen for tea.

"I'm sorry for what my husband did to you." Andrea jumps, having not heard Tracey Willows follow her.

"I can assure you it was an accident Mrs. Willows, your husband has apologised to me on a number of occasions; he even offered to pay any medical expenses." Andrea busies herself making tea.

"But still…" Her voice cracks and there's silence while they drink.

* * *

"PC Dunbar." She'd seen in the corridors not a minute ago and if she hadn't seen him with the DCI she might have thought he was looking for her. Those two words have almost become his catch cry; the first place his eyes stray is to the growing swelling on her cheek. "How's the case going?" 

"Mr. Willows went back to his wife's house after he was bailed. He did no damage other than to frighten his wife but he's getting smarter, he was gone before we got there this time."

"What about the wife?"

"DS De Costa is going to try and get her into some emergency accommodation under a different name so they'll be safe."

"Sounds like the best thing." Neil watches Andrea's eyes close for a few seconds.

"He's not a bad guy when he's calm; all his role models have used violence to get their way." Unable to hold off, Andrea presses her fingers hard against her forehead, massaging them in an effort to rid herself of the headache she's been carrying since she fell down the stairs.

"Are you alright?" The same concern is back.

"My head's been pounding ever since I fell." Her fingers massage harder as it starts to help.

"Have you taken a painkiller?"

"I'm waiting for it to kick in." Andrea tries not to let it become obvious her headache is making her feel sick.

"You should go home." He steps closer into her for a moment as another uniform officer passes. His heat and scent surrounds Andrea placing her off balance.

"Can't," her voice reflects the pain she's feeling.

"Come and see me later." He walks off leaving Andrea to wonder about the meaning of the five words. For the rest of the afternoon she will tell herself he meant to update him on the case, her heart will hope it's for other reasons.

* * *

"I'm just waiting for my radio to come to life again." Honey sounds depressed as she waits for the machine to make her coffee. 

"CID has been around to Chris Willows flat, he wasn't there." Andrea leans against the wall next to Honey.

"I hate this." Honey sighs and downs a mouthful of the hot liquid.

"Paperwork," they say simultaneously knowing if they leave it, the pile will grow.

As Andrea has almost finished, Honey's radio springs to life, both women tense as the CAD operators voice calls them.

"Oh God," Honey chokes as the report of a kidnapped child is passed on and the address corresponds. There's alarm in the way both women leave the station and drive the now familiar route to the house.

"The door's open." Andrea notices as they pull up. She feels her headache coming back with force, the paperwork not helping. Both women push through the front door calling for Mrs. Willows, she's curled herself into the foetal position on the sofa, her whole body shaking and cold to touch.

"Shock," Andrea says grabbing a nearby throw. She tries to start her talking but the trauma is set in too deep. Honey looks around the rest of the house but they already know the worst. There's a bag packed to go out, baby necessities spilling out from where it's been thrown haphazardly.

"Can you get an ambulance as well?" Andrea finishes her radio call. "DS De Costa and CID are on their way." Honey looks worried and Andrea follows her gaze to where Mrs. Willows grips onto a pink doll.

* * *

"What happened?" The door bursts open to the room where Andrea is running checks on Mrs. Willows, Neil follows closing the door behind him. 

"The child is gone, there were no signs of forced entry, Honey has gone to St Hughes with Mrs. Willows. She was so traumatised by what's happened she couldn't tell us anything."

"Suzie's going to the hospital, she just rang to say crime scene have found nothing."

"DS De Costa is with her." Andrea says as Neil takes the chair next to her.

"Did you find anything?" Neil asks nodding to the computer.

"No." Andrea says the frustration obvious in her voice.

"Keep looking he's crawled into hole somewhere." His voice is encouraging and Andrea turns back to what she was doing expecting to hear him stand and leave.

"How's your head?" This is no afterthought; his voice betrays the fact he's been thinking about her.

"A brass band is rehearsing inside." She says with teeth clenched. In a moment he's gone and Andrea looks incredulously at the closed door, is that it? She brushes off returning to her search.

The door opens a few minutes later, he's back with ice and painkillers. Their hands brush again as he passes over the ice in silence.

"I think you missed your calling." She says seriously.

"I wouldn't do this for anyone else." He holds her eyes for a second before watching the pills pop from their packet.

"My personal stash," there's lightness in his voice, a conversation between friends. "By about one in the afternoon I always had a headache when…" His voice trails as if his brain has finally caught up and realised what he was saying. Andrea knows what he was going to say…when they'd been up all night.

"Thanks." She swallows the tablets and goes back to what she was doing and hears him exit a minute later. She works her shift out with nothing to show for it. Still she doesn't go home, changing into her street clothes, glad to remove the bulky belt and cumbersome radio.

* * *

"Inspector Gold said you were here." Neil says from the doors of the canteen. The only illumination comes from the dull security lighting but it's quiet. Andrea checks her watch, the case has consumed her shift and now it consumes her thoughts. It's dark outside and approaching midnight, for hours she'd been sitting in the hard plastic chair with her feet propped up on another thinking of every possibility she could. So far she'd discounted each one. 

"I'm thinking." She sighs for the first time noticing the aches that have been caused by the chair. In the dark she can only make out his outline.

"CID's almost empty, why don't you come up?" Andrea's first thought is that it's not a good idea.

"I like it here." Its lame and also all she can think off.

"He won't hurt her Andrea, he's a father who bought up his own brother, he loves his child and he thinks this is the only thing he can do not to lose her." His words are no comfort to her; the doors swing as he leaves her with her thoughts again.

* * *

It comes to her around one and she can't believe she didn't think of it before – it's not too far outside of the realm of possibility. A quick check of the computer confirms her suspicions and she runs into CID, stopping instantly when she finds the office empty. Around the corner a light still burns in his office, the door open but he's not at his desk, standing whiskey glass in hand looking out the window. 

"I know where they are." Her voice surprises him, the alcohol sloshing in the glass as he turns. His face cannot hide the fact he'd not surprised she's still here. He puts the glass on the desk and takes his chair as Andrea explains. "The family home was the only thing of value left behind when the parents died, it was placed in the two sons names, when they were old enough one name was removed, Chris Willows."

In Andrea's head it makes sense but she hasn't explained it to Neil who looks unconvinced.

"It makes sense, older brother raises younger brother, wants the best for him so gives him the house."

"So isn't the younger brother living there?" Neil toys with the glass on his desk.

"I've found nothing to suggest it's anything other than empty, why would they want to live there given the upbringing they had in it." She tries harder to convince him. "For Chris it's the place of his life's greatest achievement – where he raised his brother among chaos and now he thinks he's going to lose his own child."

"So why keep the house?" Neil plays devil's advocate.

"I don't know." Andrea says exasperated, she feels so close yet so far. "These are mixed up people, maybe it'll be worth a lot of money in the future, and maybe they cling to the past for some unhealthy reason."

"I agree it's worth checking out." Andrea can feel a 'but' coming. "DC Sim is at the hospital with Tracey Willows."

Andrea feels like a balloon having its air released, Neil's never let her down before. Her features harden as she looks at him and after a minute wins.

"O.k., we'll check it out." Andrea doesn't visibly show she's pleased as he grabs his jacket. "You've talked with this guy haven't you?"

"Yes, we've got a good rapport." Andrea says as they take the steps down.

"You're confidant you can get a result."

"Yes." She smiles at him as if her word needs reinforcing.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

"What are you thinking?" Andrea studies his profile once they're outside the Willows' childhood house.

"Its looks befit the stories that have come out of it." Neil says slowly studying the dark two-story house. "Also that we're going to need local backup."

"No." Andrea says with conviction. "If we show up with lights and guns' blazing it's going to put him under pressure and we're already suspicious of his capabilities. The last thing we want is that child taken as a hostage and a siege on our hands. I know I can negotiate, the locals don't know this case or this guy…I do. Like you said he loves his daughter but he also deals with conflict the wrong way."

Naturally cautious still, Neil opens the car door, signalling to Andrea she's convinced him. There are no other cars parked around, the street dark and quiet, the porch is old rotting, Andrea places her feet carefully.

The windows are boarded up, glass missing in places but the door gives way easily when Neil pushes on it. There's a scattering of furniture in the living area, its shape smoothed over by white sheets which protect it from the dust and mould that coats everything else. Andrea points to a new pink doll like the one Mrs. Willows clung to; it lies lifeless on the floor.

There are signs of life in the kitchen, milk being kept cold in a sink full of ice. Out the kitchen window Andrea can see no signs of life just strange shapes cast by the tall trees.

Neil moves onto the room connected to the kitchen and living area by a hallway, the door is ajar, no light escaping from the slight space between the door and doorframe. Neil shakes his head pointing to the upstairs; he knows not to play your hand until you're sure the rest of the house is empty.

Andrea mouths a curse as the stairs protest under her weight, she stops, listening but the complaints of the house don't seem to have registered with anyone.

The first two bedrooms are empty of life, a tiny moonbeam spraying across the room through the window boards.

The bathroom has smudged footprints in the dirt and dust leading to the toilet; a child's booster step rests in front of the bowel. The floor creaks again, this time under Neil's weight as they head to the last upstairs room. Again they stop till they're sure no one is any the wiser.

The door is slightly ajar; Andrea pushes it open enough for them to fit through when she sees a small body in the bed. A white sheet hangs over the edge of the bed, a dark coloured blanket covering the small body. Andrea pushes the door all the way back to be sure no one is behind it, Neil pulls it back to it's original spot so as not to draw attention.

It happens fast, in the same moment Andrea realises there's no one in the bed the door slams shut, they both hear the lock turning and Andrea's heart sinks.

She turns back the blanket to find only small pillows while Neil tries the lock. The old heavy door no matter how antiquated its lock is, isn't going to budge. Andrea goes to the lone window that faces the street; she pulls it upwards to no avail. Neil helps her until they both realise it was nailed shut a long time ago and has been painted over many times since then. They watch as Chris Willows runs across the front grass with his daughter in his arms, he turns the street corner and disappears.

Neil reaches into his jacket breast pocket for his phone that beeps to life, doing its best to light the room as he activates the speed dial the phone uses the last of its energy to beep twice, a warning of the impending death of the battery; he doesn't even get the call connected.

She watches him, thinking she sees his lips swear his eyes hopefully reach hers. "It's in my locker at the station." His curse is audible this time.

"I knew I should have waited for Suzie or called the locals. Now look where we are."

"So this is my fault." She can see their car from the window. "You were the one who didn't want to open the door downstairs."

"You were the one who convinced me to come in the first place." Their frustration at being trapped together finds a vent in each other.

"I didn't exactly drag you kicking and screaming." Andrea's determined not to take the blame for this one, Neil checks his phone again but the life has been drained from it.

"Give me your jacket." Andrea demands but Neil's not budging.

"What for?"

"So I can break the glass and call for help."

"The jacket might protect your hand but it won't protect your face, neck, shoulders, chest, it's not worth it." The ire in his voice is obvious. "If no one hears us you could bleed out, not to mention all those nails in the boards that point towards the glass."

Realising he's right Andrea throws herself onto the flimsy mattress pushing aside the pillows and blankets. She matches his angry look sending it across the room to where he's sitting with his back to the wall, after ten minutes she can't stand it any longer.

"Where do you think he's gone?" The anger from before has dissolved.

"That may be the one good thing to come from this, as we've found his hiding spot he may head home." Neil has simmered as well; both seemingly realise anger is only going to make the situation worse. "Did you log the last thing you did on the computer?"

"I did, I was trying to find this address." Andrea feels her spirits lift; at least once they're missed there'll be threads to pick up. There's a comfortable silence that falls between them, Andrea wasn't expecting Neil to break.

"Do we no longer have anything to say to each other outside of work topics?"

"How have you been?" Andrea feels herself wading into dangerous territory; she has one question she wants to ask but needs to be able to escape if she doesn't get an answer she likes.

"Good, you?"

"Good."

"This is ridiculous." Neil half laughs but doesn't further the conversation. She watches him remove his tie and undo two shirt buttons, stand and stare out the window – she wonders if he has a question on the same scale as hers he wants to ask.

Her skin had prickled since they got out of the car, along with the chills down her spine she told herself it was just the situation, now the cold caresses her skin and she realises the others weren't as a result of her mind. She shivers loudly despite her coat. "I guess all we can do is wait until we're missed."

"You're cold." He slides off his jacket, stepping across the room to put it over her shoulders. Andrea slides her arms in, grateful for the wool blend. The window pulls him away again, Andrea's eyes heavy as she arranges the pillows at one end, pulling the thin blanket over her as she lies down.

Her eyes are closed when he says the words she'd usually love to hear.

"Is there room in there for two?" His weight sinks the edge of the bed, Andrea sits up to move and offer him space and blanket on the tiny single bed. The words flood uncontrolled from her mouth.

"Have I lost you?" He knows instantly what she means, holding her eyes for a moment before looking at freedom out the window; he only comes back when he has an answer.

"I don't know the answer to that question." He holds her gaze and the answer is enough for Andrea, there's a chance. He slides in behind her pulling the blanket over them, it doesn't even matter that his arm doesn't wrap around her.

* * *

The bursting door awakens Andrea with a start; this time there's no dream to shock her into consciousness. 

"Well, well what do we have here?" Overly confidant Gabriel strolls in behind the SO19 officers, Andrea rubs her eyes registering Neil sitting behind her. "This is cosy isn't it?" He inspects the boarded up window trying to open it as Andrea had hours ago. "It's like a refrigerator in here." He mock shivers and walks out making eye contact with neither.

"Good morning." Neil says from behind her, his breath rustling her hair slightly.

"What time is it?" Andrea pushes the blanket of her legs realising she's still wearing his jacket over her calf length one.

"It's six." Neil says, when Andrea turns in the direction of his voice she finds herself inches from him.

'Thank you." Andrea says and it's about more than just telling her the time. She stands slipping the jacket off her shoulders, passing it to Neil who stands opposite her. The last thing she wanted anyone to see was her sleeping next to Neil in his jacket, especially a nosy and nasty gossip like Gabriel.

"Didn't miss you for a couple of hours," Gabriel chats friendlily on the way down the stairs, it makes Andrea's skin crawl. "Couldn't retrace your steps until Mrs. Willows came out of shock and was able to tell us about this place, SO19 were a bit slow getting out of bed at this early hour." Neither Neil nor Andrea appreciates the joke. From the outset his actions have been self-serving and he creeps Andrea out more than the dark house.

"Did you find Mr. Willows and his daughter?" Andrea asks as they move through the living are that's crawling with crime scene officers.

"He gave himself up when he saw DS De Costa outside his house; mother and daughter have been reunited."

"Except now he'll never get visiting rights." Andrea says almost silently, Neil and Gabriel falling into a respectful silence.

"There's a car outside waiting to take you back to the station." It's the most genuine thing to come from Gabriel's mouth so far.

"Thank you PC Kent but we can drive ourselves." Andrea's relieved with Neil's decision, now she doesn't have to endure a car ride of probing questions.

"By the way Sir, you're wife's waiting for you outside, we called her when we couldn't find you." It's a body blow for Andrea and a feeling of disappointment pumps through her veins. She hadn't though of Philippa through all of this, caught in the blinding headlights of her own relationship with Neil. Neil nods to them both and steps out the front door, through the adjacent window Andrea can see Philippa Manson standing next to the DCI. When she sees Neil she steps towards him till they're engulfed in an embrace. Andrea has to turn away.

"Lovely couple aren't they?" Gabriel says almost in her ear, it takes all of Andrea's self control not to shudder. "Successful, wealthy, ambitious but still working for the good of the community."

"I don't pretend to know something about people's lives when I know nothing." Andrea seethes at Gabriel's attempt to rattle her, somewhere the panic button depresses realising he could well know and his words are a nasty manipulation. Andrea steps outside, avoiding eye contact with either of the Manson's.

"You alright PC Dunbar?" The DCI calls and Andrea flashes him a quick and only semi-convincing smile. She leans against the car she arrived in those dark hours ago, her back to the public display of affection. Part of her is angry with Gabriel, another happy to be free of the claustrophobic room, the other wants to cry because of the scene behind her.

"I'm glad you're alright." The sweet and kind feminine voice makes Andrea look back from where she stares at the silver BMW across the street; she knows who the voice belongs to. She gives Philippa an even less convincing smile, feeling a knife in her heart as she sees where her hand is joined to her husbands.

Like a car wreck, she can't help but watch as Neil kisses his wife goodbye at the silver BMW Andrea knows now, the luxury vehicle gliding away down the street with a short and happy sounding horn.

The scene would usually have her teetering on the edge of crumbling but this time her instinct is to fight and as she watches him walk over she knows that's just what she's going to do.

Her voice is shaky but not without conviction. "I want you back." He appreciates the bravery it took; his wife's just driven off and work colleagues surround them. There's pain in his eyes and she has to give him credit for not brushing her off. It's dangerous but out of sight of the officers that litter the front yard of the house, his fingers sliding into hers sparks emotion, where she'd kept herself under control when asking the question that had plagued her for weeks.

"I can't do it Andrea, it'd be just like before and you wouldn't be happy. I can't give you what you deserve." Somehow she expected this reply but it's irrelevant when he adds. "You should find someone else."

He would have done less damage picking her up and throwing her into oncoming traffic, the utter devastation hits her and drains the life from her, she won't let herself cry though, sliding her hand from his and walking away. The doubt that she'd pushed away when she mustered the strength seeps back in. You've lost him; you've lost him a part of her chants softly.

Gabriel watches her as she leans against the passenger door of his car.

"You're not travelling with the DI?" His questions are not for the public interest reason. Andrea refuses to turn as Neil accelerates excessively out of his park and down the street…Gabriel is fascinated.

"I've just spent the last six hours or so with him." Andrea adds bite to her tone; she doesn't want a Q & A session, knowing Gabriel will only back off when he has nowhere else to go, much like the media.

"It looked pretty cosy to me." He rounds the car and opens his door.

"Does this look like we're best friends?" She stares daggers across the roof of the car. "You said yourself it was cold in the room." The slamming of her door is enough to appease Gabriel but Andrea can see he still has a burning desire to ask what went on last night.

* * *

"Are you o.k.?" Yvonne asks from the ramp when Andrea gets out of the car, ignoring Gabriel she heads towards her friend. 

"I'm fine." She reassures Yvonne.

"When the DI came back he was yelling and slamming doors." Andrea misses the look Gabriel passes Yvonne.

"Nothing to do with me," Andrea breezes but can't work out why Neil would be angry, other than the obvious of being locked in a dark, cold room all night.

"Inspector Gold is looking for you." Yvonne's tone doesn't fill Andrea with hope. Neither does the sight of Neil walking behind Adam Okaro towards her. With polite 'Sir's' her colleagues flee.

"Are you alright PC Dunbar?" Andrea flicks a look across to Neil whose face is expressionless but she can see a tiny bit of that look someone gets when they know they're in for it.

"Yes Sir, fine."

"Good. Go home both of you. I want a report on my desk tomorrow as to how and why this happened and you'd better include why you didn't have back up when you went to arrest a verbally and physically violent man who'd kidnapped his child."

"Sir," they say in unison and the Super is gone. Andrea sighs audibly, it's really the last thing she needed. Right now she craves a few home comforts.

"Andrea." Neil says but he's the last person she wants to talk to.

"I just want to go home and have a hot shower and sleep in my own bed." There's lethargy in her voice which Neil picks up on, nodding he leaves it at that.

Andrea doesn't look back.

* * *

To be continued...In the next story ID - 2619492 


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